Parchment and Ink
by Thechieftain
Summary: She tied them together meticulously and kept them in her drawer. He held them in his good pocket, where he could reach them at a moment's notice. Both would smile upon seeing the words on the page, reminded that out there, beneath the same sky, someone was thinking of them. [Between Chapter 699 and SasuSaku travels. These are letters exchanged between them. M for Mature themes]


**AN: So I decided that I'd do this. This is probably maybe going to be referenced in (or at least will be in the same universe as) Book of Love but can definitely stand on its own as a separate thing. It's simply going to be a collection of letters between Sasuke and Sakura in the time that he was away. Don't know how long I'll keep this going, but I'll update this when I'm in the mood for doing something short. It also helps me practice different speaking styles, which is something I feel I need to work on.**

 **For the moment being, enjoy!**

* * *

 **Sasuke**

Sakura,

You have been sending me more letters than I can respond to. While normally I would send my correspondences jointly with the briefings I give to Naruto, I have come to realize that this has become inappropriate. Thusly, I now will send my hawk to your home personally, attached with him, the messages between us.

Depending on my location, it may take anywhere between three days to two weeks for one of my letters to reach you and the same time for your letter's return. Do not expect me to always respond immediately, however. I have work to do, and you too have a life to live with many responsibilities weighing upon your shoulders. We are shinobi, and as such, we have duties beyond ourselves.

As stated in my previous letters, I am unsure of when I would be returning. I find it particularly difficult to gauge something such as this. You must remember that this is a journey, with no set beginning or end. Through impulse, I continue to press forward, knowing only that I feel that I am not yet redeemed. I understand that this might be difficult to understand, but know that I do plan to return. One day, I will lay down my cloak and come to Konoha, to live out the rest of my days protecting it as you and Naruto do on a daily basis. I can give you no promises of a date, but I assure you that I have plans. I only ask that you wait until then, and tell Naruto to do the same.

Impatience runs through both of your blood, as it does with mine. This is one of the things that connects us as Team Seven.

In response to your massive paragraph about the sharingan, I will also agree that one way, when we are both in each other's presence, that you will be allowed to study my eye. I understand that as the last of my kind, the eyes that I hold have invaluable information which will be useful to Konoha once I pass, whenever that may be. I ask only that you do not release this information until then, and that when the day comes, you only release it to someone that you would trust with your life. The secrets of the sharingan are one of the only pieces of my legacy left, and if I do not have an heir, I would prefer that the knowledge be used in the way that Itachi would have wanted. Protecting Konoha at all costs is the only purpose for which I live. My own personal fancies and desires equate not in these decisions that may decide the fates of nations and men. I want to do what is right, and I know you would too. Keep this in mind, and I will trust you to do what you think is necessary.

I apologize for the briefness of this response in comparison to yours. I do not have enough parchment left to give you a reply to each and every single one of your questions and musings. That and I would probably not be able to give you adequate answers. You speak like water flows, and write as winds gust upon high mountains. It's too much for me. A shinobi is expected to speak little, to make their actions count as though it were the weight of the world itself.

Give my regards to Naruto.

Respectfully,

Sasuke

* * *

 **Sakura**

Dear Sasuke,

I almost couldn't believe it when I saw your hawk on my window sill this morning! It pecked at my window so hard that it made a crack. Then it started screeching loud enough that I fell out of bed. It would have been funny if it weren't for the fact that I had just fallen asleep after a long night at the hospital, but don't worry. I let him in and let the poor thing eat while I read your letter. Honestly, despite the damage and grief your bird caused me, your words more than make up for it.

I'm kind of disappointed that you still don't know when you'll be coming back, but I figured as much. I understand that this is important to you, and because of that, you'd probably rather not deal with the constant questions. I can't help myself though. It's been such a long time since we've seen you here and we all miss you. You'd be happy here if you came back sooner. There's a lot of ways you can redeem yourself here, especially since your missions would take you out of the village every once in awhile anyways. But again, I understand, and I would never want to get in the way of something that is important to you— especially not this. I know it has nothing to do with me, but I can't help but worry about you sometimes. Not that you can't take care of yourself, but it must be lonely to be out there. Don't you miss Konoha? Even just a little? I don't think a quick stop would hurt, if you could manage it.

Seriously, come for a visit and I'll show you around! A lot has changed around here, and I don't even think you'd recognize some of Konoha anymore. Do you remember Amegakure? I think we only went once or twice as genin but there were massive buildings that touched the skies over there. A lot of electric signs and neon posts. People with strange hair and all the weird music. Looks like that stuff caught on here but turned up all the way off the scale. There's people here that dye their hair in rainbow colors to match the street signs! Crazy do's and stylized clothes, but not a lot of emphasis on shinobi training or decorum. It's pretty out there, I have to admit. It actually reminds me of this circular diagram that indicates the four stages of society as it evolves throughout time. We'd be from the generation prior, which fights in a great calamity to bring about easy times. And now the new people that are growing up in the easy times are more likely to express themselves in avant-garde ways. Then comes a period of upheaval which brings about decline because easy times creates complacency. Finally would come another generation like us, that has to fight in the calamity brought about by the age of upheaval. See? Pretty circular. One brings about the other, and it goes on and on. Anyways, I just wanted to say that the people that are growing up in Konoha are really different than you or I or even our classmates. I feel things won't be getting any more familiar from now on.

Kakashi-sensei's been pretty busy because of all the changes though. He's the one that ordered all the new skyscrapers and brought all the tech to Konoha. He said that if we're going need to compete in other non-military ways, then we need to be leaders in the shinobi world. I guess I understand the need, but I'm sort of worried about what he means by that. Do you think that the age of shinobi is starting to end? The fact that what he's saying is sort of matching the behavior of the village is a very discouraging symptom.

At least the music is getting better. There's this thing now that they call disco, and they play it at discotheques. It's pretty good. What I love though is power rock and power ballads! It's completely different from disco. Whenever Naruto comes to visit, I have it on and we sing until someone comes to tell us to be quiet. It's pretty fun but I bet you wouldn't like it, haha!

Do they also have radio where you are? If you're ever in one of the five great shinobi villages, tune into station 103.9. It's called "The Konoha Coast" and they have exclusive music from the Leaf village! Between 9 P.M. and 3 A.M. is 'Power-Rock Anthem Time', and you can guess what they play. Please give it a chance.

Anyway, being serious, I'd like to thank you. I know it was probably difficult for you to consider letting me study your sharingan, but I assure you that it'll be for the good of the leaf, once we end up passing the torch to the next generation. Despite our strength, we won't last forever. We're slowly becoming the adults, and we have to think like adults...making sacrifices for the village and things like that. It's kind of easy to think that way when you grow up the way we've grown up, but some of it...even most of it...we were motivated by selfish things. It's hard to keep thinking that way when there's kids now that look up at us as heroes or legends. We have to leave them something so that when it's their turn to rise, they have the tools necessary to protect the village. I understand you probably don't want just anyone to get ahold of this information, so I'll keep it confidential until the day you specified, and then pass it over to someone whom we _both_ trust with our lives. If you decide later on that you'd rather keep it within your clan, it'll simply remain between us and your heirs. In the absence of a descendant, I'll burn it. You have my word that whatever you decide, I'll follow it. I only hope that you trust Konoha enough to leave it with this legacy that is precious to you.

I understand that you may not be able to write to me often or very much. I'm glad just to get this much from you. It's a lot more than you've spoken to me in a long time! Not to mention, that despite as laconic as you are, you still have a way with words that makes me want to read and reread your letters. I'll cut myself off here, so that you won't have mountains upon mountains of paper to sift through. Plus, I know your hawk will probably have a hard time carrying stacks at a time, so I'll cut him a break (even though he broke my window).

I hope you stay safe out there. You're in my thoughts.

Yours faithfully,

Sakura


End file.
